With over 45 years of experience, Sara Christie joined Seacoast Bank in 2019 with a primary focus on the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In her current role, Sara is responsible for the administration of the Bank’s BSA/AML/OFAC Program, which includes ensuring everyone at Seacoast adheres to the policies, procedures, and controls established to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulations. This includes but is not limited to establishing and enforcing comprehensive policies and procedures, providing training and education to employees, conducting risk assessments, monitoring transactions, investigating suspicious activities, and collaborating with auditors and regulatory authorities. Sara plays a significant role in managing risk and fostering a strong risk culture throughout the bank. To effectively balance risk and growth, Sara has implemented robust internal controls for AML/BSA to identify and mitigate potential risks. These processes continuously monitor bank-wide compliance with the program to detect any suspicious or unusual behavior that may indicate money laundering or other illicit activities. Sara leads a team of 50+ seasoned professionals experienced in all aspects of BSA, AML, and OFAC. She is well-known for being able to keep her team motivated despite increased demands. Her team has created strong partnerships with customer-facing teammates and has implemented ongoing educational opportunities on AML/BSA regulations, as well as the importance of risk management. These sessions/exchanges emphasize the shared values of integrity, transparency, and accountability in relation to risk management to establish a strong risk culture across the bank. Sara began her career in banking in 1980 with Banco de Estado de Sao Paulo in Miami. While there, she was rapidly promoted from Communications Room Clerk through all banking functions aside from private banking. Since then, she has served in senior management positions at Banca Sella, StateTrust, Transatlantic Bank, Ocean Bank, BSA Strategies, Intercredit Bank, Helm Bank USA, Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust, and Eastern National Bank. Throughout her career, Sara has been instrumental in the remediation of multiple regulatory enforcement actions while implementing new BSA programs in several high-risk South Florida financial institutions. Sara holds an associate degree in business administration from Miami-Dade College and attended ABA National Compliance School. She is based in Miami. Sara is based in Miami.
